Police are heroes on our streets

OUR VIEW

We often are reminded that the men and women in our armed forces, whether serving in combat overseas, support units or far-flung posts around the world, do not get nearly enough attention from the American public.

That's all too true. Now, double that omission for those who protect us here at home, right under our noses.

The police who patrol our streets, chase robbery suspects, investigate crimes and generally keep the peace in our community have daunting responsibilities that few citizens would want to take upon themselves. Often, they are placed in harm's way.

Some die in the process.

On Wednesday, Metro Nashville honored the 42 law enforcement officers who over the years have been slain in the line of duty in this city. The tribute moved families and other attendees in a personal way, but at the same time there was a note of public awareness that there never has been a greater need for appreciation of police officers.

An example is the words of Sgt. Robert Weaver, president of the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police, who spoke at the memorial at First Baptist Church downtown. "We saw what happened in Boston. ... We know the dangers that come every time that radio goes off calling us to help someone."

The dangers are ever-present, but police officers are human, no matter how well-trained and well-armed they may be. There is a sense of awe when you realize these individuals - who might be a person you went to school with, or who lives down the street - could proceed into such a chaotic attack as at the Boston Marathon. Or rescue people and their pets as floodwaters surround their homes and businesses. Police were the initial responders in Boston, during the Nashville flood, and in countless other complex and hazardous situations every day.

Then they do it again the next day.

For those people who distrust or resent law enforcement officers, we can only say that there is no field of endeavor that is free of people who cannot or will not properly do the job. But police forces on the whole rack up a better record of service than most, and under far more challenging conditions.

And if they were to disappear from our streets, we would very quickly understand, in very grim terms, just how much we need police officers.

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Police are heroes on our streets

Police officers do not get the recognition they deserve for keeping us safe in troubled times.